Thy Thralldom Come

by The Monday Child

Two sisters of royal blood are captured by the enemy. Their kingdom is no more. A cruel prince has taken them both for his own, tempting them into depths unexplored by good girls. Their choice is clear: lose themselves or lose their lives.

12. Ravaged but Spirited

Twelve: Ravaged but Spirited

"Stay here," Inuyasha ordered Kagome as the sound of clanging swords and battle cries grew nearer.

"But—"

"Do it!" It was a testament to how very beguiling the girl was that he hadn't heard the chaos sooner, but now that he had, he was back in warrior mode like he hadn't been since the destruction of the land that had spawned her.

Inuyasha ran out. Kagome intended to count to five but only made it to three before she burst through the doors and tried to follow Inuyasha and the guards as stealthily as possible, holding his firerat cape close to her body. Thanks to her rather theatrical exit, going unnoticed wasn't going to happen.

"Get her back inside!" Inuyasha ordered Sango without even turning around.

"We need all hands on deck, my prince. She is not the priority."

Kagome could tell Inuyasha was going to argue, but he was interrupted by the battle suddenly coming to them.

The hall they turned into was filled with Inu guards fighting for their life and invaders riding dragons. It took Kagome a minute to see what Inuyasha could smell right away: they were human.

"What the—"

One of them flew down and attempted to pierce him with a spear, but he jumped out of the way, bringing a clinging Kagome with him.

"Our target is here!" the attacker shouted. "And without his sword. Concentrate your efforts, men!"

At his word, several dragon-riding humans came their way, but none so fast as the two demons in their company.

Inuyasha dodged a lightning bolt and sneered. "Fucking Human Alliance bastards. All about human superiority on the one hand and pay demons to do their dirty work with the other."

Arrows fired at them and he knocked most of them out of the way, taking one to the shoulder.

"My prince!" Sango cried out, big eyes filled with anguish at the sight of the blood soaking his white sleeve. Catching her hiraikotsu, she ran over.

"Take Kagome and go," he ordered through gritted teeth.

"And leave you with neither weapons nor armor?" she scoffed. "I am your shadow. Yours!"

The prince didn't have any time to respond and instead occupied himself with grabbing a sword by the blade, the metal cutting into his palms. Since it was a human on the other end, albeit a strong one, it wasn't too difficult to push back with one hand and punch with another.

"There! Now I've got a fuckin' weapon. Take the girl and go!"

Sango was engaged in a battle of her own, fighting off three different men. Using her hiraikotsu as a shield for one, she unsheathed her dagger and slashed at two. Kagome was frozen in fear, but none of the attackers seemed to care about her. Even Miroku was engaged in a fight and she was surprised by how the awkward man seemed to leave behind his ridiculous, simpering persona and go for the throat of his opponents. Kagome had half a mind to try and fight herself, if only to let off some steam, but then her stunned brain whirred back to life and she realized something.

No one was paying attention to her.

Reinforcements hadn't yet arrived and it appeared the palace was losing. If she left back the way they had come, she was sure she could get back to their room, and from there trick a servant into showing her where the harem was. Then she could get Kikyo and they would steal some dragons of their own and by the time anyone noticed she was not among the dead they would be back in Higurashi.

Kagome was fast, but the demon was faster.

A bolt of lightning that seemed more like the arm of some god than mere electricity blocked her path, knocking over pillars and walls and completely cutting off her planned escape.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha roared, finishing off his opponent with a blow to the neck so quick eyes couldn't track it and so fierce the man's head splattered into the wall and was an unrecognizable stain.

"I can see our info was legitimate," the demon said, hovering bent above her so close that the tip of his braid nearly brushed against her. "You are in love with a slave."

Kagome stood stock still and wondered how she was able to do that much. She knew she was here in the heart of Inu territory, but the way her knees were shaking and cold sweat was running down her back was exactly the same as it had been when her own castle was falling. One minute she had been enduring Hojo's unbearable poetry and the next Kikyo was forcing her to leave everything and everyone behind. Her breathing started to come quicker and she felt sick.

"Kagome, run!" Inuyasha called to her. It sounded far away, but he was only a few paces away from her, trying to fight his way to her side.

"She is pretty," the demon said. "I might keep her as a snack for later."

"Touch her and I'll skin you inch by inch! That will be your fucking snack."

The demon shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. It would be easier just to kill her."

The tip of the demon's spear began to glow with a blue light and she felt her hair stand on end, energy crackling around her. Kagome tried to move but her body wanted to curl up and hide, rooted to the spot. She saw what was happening around her, knew what was going on, but her mind still insisted on replaying the carnage and destruction she had witnessed in her flight from Higurashi's castle.

The light of the demon grew brighter and for a second Kagome thought she saw something pink and pure shining in its center, separate from the rest. She reached out to grab it, unable to help herself, drawn to it like a child to a mother. Just when she was about to make contact, she went flying and twisting through the air.

Inuyasha's arms were around her. The familiar scent and feel of him brought her back from wherever she had been drifting and she blinked down at him, confused.

"Inuyasha? Why are we doing this on the floor?"

His chuckle was weak and he groaned. "I do like you on top, but not when I just took a killing blow."

This time, panic animated rather than paralyzed her and she crawled off of him and to his side, checking him over for wounds. A bleeding shoulder that was nearly healed already and his shirt had been reduced to ashy smudges, but otherwise he looked okay.

"D-does it hurt?" she asked, feeling her throat close like she was about to cry, which was ridiculous, because she would never cry for a dog.

Inuyasha grabbed her hand that was brushing all over his chest and abdomen in a search for wounds. "Not where you think."

When she merely gave him a reprimanding look, he kissed the hand he held, pleased he could still make her blush. "I got the wind knocked outta me. That's all. I've had worse. The shoulder's already healing. But are you okay, Kagome?"

Miroku watched the inappropriately intimate scene with a little interest and a lot of anger. "I don't know how you do it!" he shouted to Sango.

"I just throw it and it comes back to me!" she shouted back, catching her hiraikotsu as it returned from crashing into the demon that had been about to kill Kagome. "I think it's magic or something."

"That's not what I… Aw, hell." One of the humans came at him and he stuffed the wooden end of his spear down his throat. When he drew it back, it was covered in blood and the man was no longer standing.

"This isn't the place for you, weakling," she said, throwing a smoke bomb at the demon who was charging up his next lightning attack. "Take the girl and go like the prince said."

"A man must fight for his lady love!"

Sango hit an arrow out of the air with her plated forearm, stopping it from going through his eye. "And what should the lady love do when the man is a soft-handed bookworm of a eunuch?"

"If he is so unworthy, then at the very least he may be a shield."

Miroku stood in front of her. Sango was a more than capable woman, smart and fierce with a luscious ass that could only have been bestowed upon her by the divine, but that wasn't the point. Even though he was everything she said, minus the eunuch part, he had to prove to her that he was more than the sum of his parts (or apparent lack thereof). This battle, more than staring at her and trying to charm her with quotes from dead men far more successful than he, would be what earned a place for him in her heart. It may be with his death, but if it was for the sake of love, he didn't mind dying.

"Out of my way, you fucking idiot!" Sango said, shoving him to the ground. "I can't stab them through you."

The pretend eunuch hit a puddle of blood with enough force to make it splash. A few drops hit Sango in the face and she made a sound of disgust, hand coming up to wipe it out of her eyes. As he was spitting it out of his mouth, he looked up to see a projectile heading straight for him. It was instinct and not cowardice that made him press his face back to the puddle, or at least that's what he told himself, but it was hard to remember afterward. All he knew was that Sango grunted in pain, tripped over him, and missed catching her weapon. It took out twelve men, some of them their own.

"My warrior queen!" he cried, getting to his knees beside her. "You've been injured."

Sango's face was smeared with blood but that was the least scary thing about it. He guessed it was the look in her eyes that was the most menacing, especially because it was directed at him. That and the snarl.

"Take. It. Out." The arrow had gone clear through her ankle.

Her muffled shout of pain made Kagome glance back as Inuyasha dragged her through the battle, fighting off everyone who came near them just enough to push them toward the nearest Inu guard, no longer going for the kill now that help had arrived.

Once they were beyond the thick of the battle, he tossed her over his shoulder and nearly flew through the halls, going so fast that the tapestries on the walls were gold and scarlet blurs. By the time they came to a stop, Kagome barely had a second to realize they were back in his room before he dumped her on the bed and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Kagome cried, grabbing his wrist. She had been prepared to run through the palace halls alone, but now that Inuyasha was leaving her behind instead of the other way around, she was disturbed. "What's going on? Are you going back? You can't go back there!"

He sighed and turned around, cupping her face in his hands. For a moment, he just stared at her, one side of his mouth tipped up in what was neither a smirk nor a smile. Then he kissed her.

"I never had a girl worrying about me before a fight. Guess the others were smart enough to know I always come back." Kagome glared at him and opened her mouth to say something, but he kissed her again, his tongue gently sneaking inside her mouth and meeting her own before withdrawing. "Go to your room," he said, "and wait for me."

He walked over to the wall of weapons he had on display, considering each carefully before grabbing the rusty old sword he usually had on him.

"You're so cocky," Kagome said. "At least take your cape. What if you don't make it back?"

Inuyasha looked her up and down and it didn't seem to matter that the fire rat obscured her body since he remembered it well enough to get that roguish look on his face. The longer it went on, the more she blushed.

"As much as I like the idea of you waiting for me in the nude, I'd rather have you armored. And stop worryin'," he said, fangs glinting demonically in a smirk. "I can't die without having you, so shut up and let me protect you already."

When she crossed the room to him, Inuyasha felt his heart beat faster, this time in anticipation rather than the thrill of battle. His fire rat cape was huge on her, but now that she wasn't clutching it tight in that annoyingly maidenly way she had, he was able to see the pale line that divided the crimson down the length of her body. If he turned his head, he could just make out the rounding of her breasts. Finally, she was so close to him that he could feel the heat of her body though they were not touching, and she put one small hand on the black smear across his chest, the ashes of his shirt.

"Hurry back."

Kagome's hand was behind his neck and she forced him down, his head bent at an uncomfortable angle so he could accept the best goodbye kiss of his life. It was just a hard press of the lips, but she was so close and smelled so good and was so willing that it instantly topped his list. As she pulled back, she giggled at the look on his face. Half-closed eyes that crossed and a mouth that remained open.

There was nothing that could be said after that.

Despite the circumstances, Inuyasha wasn't able to stop smiling as he ran back into the mess of fighting. Everyone he saw that wasn't wearing the uniform of an Inu guard was cut down, and if he had gotten a few suspicious-looking servants in there, then so what. Kagome had kissed him. She told him to hurry back to her. The person he trusted most had told him that Kagome loved him.

Kagome had also been betrothed to a Higurashi man.

The memory came back to him just as he slid into the hall where the worst of the fighting was taking place. The stupid lightning demon continued to pretend he was a god, hovering above everyone in obviously spelled shoes and zapping all who came near him. Sango's armor made her immune to such attacks as long as they struck her where she was protected, but the others weren't so lucky. Charred corpses littered the floor and he took a second to feel sorry for whoever had to clean the poor bastards up.

"Hey, asshole!" he shouted.

The lightning demon immediately turned around. It seemed like he was used to being addressed in such a way.

"Time to die, half-breed."

"Won't be the last time I hear that word, but it will be the last time you say it."

He raised tessaiga and it transformed larger than it ever had before, towering over him. Inuyasha didn't have time to think about that and just swung his weapon, all the rage that had built up over just the past few hours making it easy. Fuck, he knew Kagome was a virgin, he had seen it, and he knew no one had done anything with her like he had. But the very thought of her having spent time imagining a life with someone else, smiling at someone else, kissing someone else made him feel like his blood was fucking boiling.

The light from tessaiga blinded even him, which had never happened before, and the sound was deafening. Inuyasha was blown back by the sword's power and his ears rang almost as bad as they had back in the explosion of Higurashi. He blinked a few times and stumbled to his feet. Inuyasha surveyed the carnage, looking back and forth between his now dormant sword and the burnt bits of dragons, humans, and demons all mixed together.

And oh holy fucking fuck, he had blown out the fucking wall for at least three stories and the dungeon.

"What the fuck, dog breath!" a nasally voice grated against his ears. "You took out our allies with our enemies!"

He shrugged. "Keh, I just wish I didn't miss you."

Kōga growled but knew not to take it any further. "You're gonna be sent back to Higurashi for good when the emperor sees that you blew out half the fucking palace."

A seagull landed on one of the crumbling bricks that was all that remained of this side of his home. It squawked at them and he wanted to flip it off.

"What the fuck are you doing here, anyway, you shitty wolf?" he asked, prolonging the inevitable tattling on him to his brother. "Isn't your owner hiding in his office like the bureaucratic bitch he is?"

Kōga took a sharp breath through his nostrils and seemed to be having a very difficult time restraining himself from punching the prince in the face.

"Since I haven't seen any action for a decade after you cut the crown prince's arm off like a fucking psychopath, Lord Sesshomaru sent me here so I could get some practice in." He smirked. "Gods know the palace needed me when you ran off like a bitch with your bitch."

"The worst part of that last sentence is that I know you think you're clever. Bet you were rehearsing it and that was why I had to come back and save your ass."

The wolf demon had heard enough and raised a fist to punch him, but Inuyasha grabbed his wrist and twisted, bringing the bastard to his knees. Letting go, knowing the wolf was harmless, he went over to his shadow, wondering why she was sprawled on the ground.

"What happened?" he asked, glaring at the guard who had seen Kagome naked. There was something just so off about the fucker and he didn't trust him, but it was either him or one of the awful sickos he had come with, so they were stuck.

"Now you care?" Sango huffed, getting to her feet with the guard's help.

His nose twitched and he realized that the blood she had been sitting in was her own.

"Let go!" Inuyasha hissed at the guard, gathering Sango into his arms. "I'll take her to the infirmary myself."

Healers were rushing to the area along with more guards. Inuyasha ignored their questions and made his way to the nearest medical center. No one else had been brought in yet and luckily enough a few nurses had been left behind so she would receive immediate care.

"You fought well," he told her as she stretched out on a cot and waited for stinging antiseptic to be applied. "Woulda fought better if that idiot guard was worth anything."

"Miroku performed admirably. He's not the problem."

Inuyasha snorted. "He fought like a clumsy child on his first day of military training. Give me a week with Kagome and even she could do better."

Sango's jaw clenched and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with the nurse cleaning her wound. The atmosphere turned chilly and he suddenly wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there.

"Uhhh, now that you're good, I guess I'll go back and make sure things are okay," he said, backing away slowly.

The smile she turned on him was as big as it was bitter. "Fine. Check on 'things'. Have lots of fun with those manipulative 'things' that have you blind enough not to have my back."

Inuyasha would have dismissed the nurse and had a screaming match with Sango had she been anyone else. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what Sango thought of Kagome. He just didn't care. Sooner than even he himself knew, everything was going to change, and if that meant he was going to have to live and experience everything ten times as much before the worst happened, then he was going to do just that. The girl he had chosen to spend the majority of his time with before his forced marriage just happened to be loud and stupid and stubborn and basically just a nightmare of a slave. What Sango didn't realize was that it made the experience so much more worthwhile.

So worthwhile that even when it was time for him to marry, he doubted he would be able to give this one up.

With that thought, he strolled into his father's office without being summoned. The old man and his advisors looked up at him with a little more than annoyance, but the emperor waved the crew of yes-men away. They all knew he would have summoned Inuyasha in a little while, anyway, just as soon as he was sure it would be most inconvenient for his son.

"Kōga already sent in a complete incident report. I just wanted to verify a few things."

Inuyasha grinned and sank into a dragon hide chair, putting his feet up on the old man's desk just because he knew it would annoy him.

"Tessaiga transformed all huge and the blast was bigger than a fuckin' bomb!" he said excitedly.

"Yes, my advisors were just about to tell me how much gold that damage cost, plus the blood cost sent to the families of our own people you've bereaved. What I'm curious about is what exactly prompted tessaiga to completely transform for the first time?"

Inuyasha cocked his head, unaware of how it emphasized his more canine features. "First time? But I took Sesshomaru's arm off with it like ten years ago! Not to mention all the fuckin' places you've sent me where I've used it."

His father sighed, closing eyes that matched his own. He always seemed overwhelmed by the most trivial of things when his queen wasn't around.

"That is true," he said in a tone one would use when speaking to a particularly stupid child. "But do you remember what I said when I gave it to you?"

He thought for a moment. "'Here's your present; don't bother your mother for another forty-eight hours?'"

"The other thing."

"…That it can obliterate a hundred demons with one swing?"

"And have you ever managed to take a hundred out in one swing?"

His brow furrowed and it was plainly obvious that he had never even thought about it before. "No. But I coulda done a hundred and more this time."

"So what changed?"

He shrugged. "Nothin'. Huh, that's weird." He stood up, wanting to get back and check on Kagome.

"I had that sword made to protect your mother, you know. That's what activates it. Love and protection for humans, or a particular human."

Inuyasha froze, thinking about what he had said to Kagome right before he had rushed to fight and how his mind hadn't been free and clear to destroy like it usually was in a battle but rather filled with thoughts of her. Protecting her, wanting to get back to her, jealous of who had known her first…

"Keh, I'm half human, ain't I? Is wanting to protect myself not enough?"

Toga considered him for a moment. "That is something your mother and I discussed. We came to the conclusion that your mixed blood was what allowed the sword to work at all, though never before at full capacity. But what you've done today shows something has changed in your heart."

Said heart beat quickly, loud in both their ears, as though confronted with proof of guilt.

"I don't have time for this shit," he said loudly. Too loud. His face colored.

One corner of Toga's mouth tipped up in a smirk and for a moment Inuyasha saw the resemblance between the two of them, though his father did not have that malicious delight in his eyes that he had inherited solely from his mother.

"Izayoi will be upset if she doesn't get her princess parties, and the girls have already been invited. The balls will happen after you return from Hekigan. I won't tell her you've already chosen."

Inuyasha left the room with a garbled attempt at an insult. Fuck, why were his parents so weird?

O\o/O

Sesshomaru didn't even leave his study when he heard the first clangs of sword on sword, felt the rise in malicious demonic aura. Whoever had attacked the palace was foolish and those whom they had sent to fight most likely knew they were sent to die and make a statement. Or they were useful idiots. Most likely the latter, he decided when he smelled the humans among them. Whatever the case, they had made the mistake of ambushing Inuyasha's side of the palace, and knowing his brother they would be torn to shreds in minutes.

He spent the time planning how he would question the prisoners.

Demons and humans working together would lead one to believe that it was one of their more recently conquered territories, but he knew better. Resistance to the Inu always ran low in their territories after a few months to a year, as long as it took those inferior populations to understand that the new changes being enacted were benefiting them and weren't going away. Newer technology, modern laws, low taxes, free trade with previously inaccessible lands, slavery being phased out. There was more money for everyone and the prisons only contained those who were violent or stole when other options were available.

They were creating a utopia. If Higurashi had complied, they would have seen that by now. But Higurashi had precious little to do with this attack.

The Human Alliance was comprised of a few countries who claimed to want peace for humans and demons alike. They believed so-called human countries should remain run entirely by humans. This was problematic by not only having a ruling class that was not representative of the population as a whole but also because the history of almost every country had never been human or demon from the start. They made grand claims about their human dynasties, ignoring the demon periods that came before or were interwoven throughout the years. It was false and full of ignorant pride.

In almost every one of the Human Alliance countries, demons were oppressed. Not allowed to own property, not allowed to own or operate a business, not allowed to intermarry with humans. They were segregated in the worst parts of the cities and made the scapegoat for any and all issues. Half-demons had it even worse.

Hekigan was chief among these places. The little island nation was unbelievably wealthy thanks to their precious metal mines, vast forests of premium wood, and powerful navy. While they publicly advocated for equality, the Human Alliance headquarters was located there and the royal family privately and generously funded the organization's more nefarious activities. Lately, there had been a rise in terrorist attacks with the perpetrators masquerading as freedom fighters. When they looked into who the previously unknown terrorists had been, all threads led them right to Hekigan.

The crown prince, the first son of the isle whose royal family had married cousins together for the last century, was engaged to the younger princess of Higurashi. The Inu had known that when they attacked the hermit kingdom. Most of the action had been due to Naraku's intelligence, but also because the Inu wanted to send a message to Hekigan.

Soon, within the next several months, war with Hekigan would commence. The only reason it hadn't already was due to the island nation's excellent navy and flying forces. The Inu's army was without peer throughout the continent, but their navy was weak and their flying beasts were comparatively few.

Sesshomaru was without doubt that Hekigan had sent these bastards to attack the palace in the clouds. It was foolish, though the alliance and its sympathizers would applaud it as brave. It only escalated their plans for a merciless attack on Hekigan. By the time they were through with them, the survivors would be left in a land more backwards and isolated than Higurashi.

Unless they had meant to provoke them and hasten an attack. Because if the message Inuyasha had sent him was true and the Higurashi royal family was there, then there was a good chance that they had the jewel. And if they had the jewel, then it would be the Inu who were decimated.

"Your highness," Kōga greeted him, dragging a half-conscious captive behind him. His shadow saluted him even though he had retired from his military position a decade ago.

"Report?" he asked, closing the book he hadn't been reading, The Proper Care and Feeding of the Human Beast.

Kōga tossed the dazed man on the floor. "The guards told me the young prince could hardly fight 'cause of a girl. He just lashed out blindly and even shielded her with his body. It was shameful." The giant grin on his face demonstrated how pleased he was at the prince's unbecoming behavior. "I got there after he ran off with her and took care of most of them. She must be a great beauty to make that idiot lose his head like that."

"Just another whore," Sesshomaru said, well aware of his brother's preferences. "His dirty blood is showing itself more and more of late."

The restrained captive moaned behind his gag and shifted. Kōga kicked him for the audacity.

"Lick the boot of the future emperor of Inu, trash," he sneered.

Sesshomaru's face betrayed nothing, but he was once again put off by his shadow's enthusiasm for debasement. It was probably a weird sex thing, judging by the bulge in his fur pelt, but Sesshomaru didn't really care about things like that beyond his one obsession.

The prisoner opened one large eye and glared at him with a fury that belied his humpty-dumpty appearance.

"A demon working for the human alliance," he drawled. The disgust in his voice didn't have to be faked. "And a pureblood, at that. Tell me who sent you and your death will be of your own choosing."

The wolf ripped the gag from his mouth and kicked the prone demon until he was on his side, face no longer pressed to the ground.

"You Inu scum have no right to look down on us! We are the true champions of demons, not you. My brother and I were going to take you down and turn things back to how they used to be, when humans ran in fear from us and sacrificed their own to us. But then your father—"

"I know my people's history, fool. Who sent you?"

One lash from his energy whip had the flesh across the demon's head, neck, and upper back bubbling and burning.

"Ahhhh! My hair! You bastard, I'll kill you and every fucking dog, even the half-breed with the magic whore protecting—"

He whipped him a second time. "Who sent you?"

The demon's skin was even pastier where it was not burned but he laughed. "Your wife. She wanted a real man to take your place."

This time, the acid dripped from his claws, and soon the demon was a bubbling mess of goo on his wood floor.

"Clean that up. We have enough evidence to confirm it was a Human Alliance attack. He mentioned his brother, the only other demon here, and the smell of him confirmed his powers to be electric in origin. The Thunder Brothers. I thought they were killed decades ago."

Kōga ushered in a servant to clean up the still frothing demon puddle.

"Your highness, forgive me for speaking so impertinently, but I do not believe the young prince to be a fitting ambassador of the Inu. If I may suggest it, I think you and I would be far better representatives. Just like the old days! Before that bastard, uh, before he, uh... Was a bastard."

Sesshomaru ignored his urge to roll his eyes at Kōga's attempt at courtly conversation. He was almost as bad as Jaken, though far less articulate. The only one who openly acknowledged his missing arm, other than himself, was his ward.

"I have no desire to lower myself by engaging in a joke of a diplomatic errand with pathetic humans and earth-dwelling demons." He sat back down in his chair and opened his book back up again. "Kill the remaining assailants. They are not worth taking prisoner as we already know Hekigan to be their puppet master and it is too soon to take them down just yet."

The wolf pouted and opened his mouth to argue, but the crown prince cut him off with a look.

"This war with Hekigan will take planning, Kōga. That means it's something neither you nor my half-breed idiot of a brother can handle. The most important part will be up to me, as always. I am the brain, you are my limbs."

His shadow was obviously upset at how his master consistently maintained a presence inside the palace, but he was at the very least obedient. When the wolf left, Sesshomaru wondered what he expected of him. Leading was done with the mind, not the fist. That was what soldiers were for. His time in the military had been cut short—a pun he hated to have thought of—and now his father's golden child was the champion of the empire.

But he didn't care. He didn't need the love of millions. All he required was the lone precious flame as trapped in the palace as he.

His rooms were in the opposite direction of where the fighting had been so he luckily did not have to fly over any fallen bodies and get their foul stench in his nose, ruining his mood in what should be a joyous moment. It would be the first time today that he would see her.

When he arrived in his inner chambers to ready himself to pay a visit to his favorite servant, he found Rin was already there waiting for him. In contrast to his stomach-twisting worry for her, she was completely serene, sitting there on one of his floor cushions like a contented little fairy spirit. It was almost insulting how calm she was.

"Rin," he said in a low voice, not completely able to keep his anguish from showing. "You are unhurt, yes? Are you scared? Did you hear anything?"

Sesshomaru took both her hands in his one. Truthfully, if she had even heard the skirmish, he considered that a direct attack against her. Many years had gone by and she still did not remember how he had brought her back from the netherworld. It was his constant fear that any violence would bring it back and she would no longer be his happy little sprite. For the first time in a long time, he wished for his arm back that he might be the hero of the realm—and her heart.

She brought his hand to her heart. Her intention was to make him feel her steady heartbeat and reassure him, but the rounding of her small breast was all he could concentrate on.

"I am perfectly fine, my lord," she said in her sweet voice. "I trust you to always protect me. As long as you live, I know I will never come to any harm."

The words were true, and they were what gave her strength when she had been fretting over the plot of his powerful father-in-law. There was no one stronger and more determined than her lord.

Sesshomaru took a quick, sharp breath through his nose and she knew he was taking in her scent, something he did often to assure himself that she was truly as serene as she pretended to be. Being raised in the palace, Rin had become able to lie even to herself.

"I am glad." He brought her against him in an embrace, her head against his heart. When he spoke, she could hear the deep rumble of his voice and it shook something inside her. "Make sure you do not forget that, Rin."

A rare peace fell over her, a real one that she hadn't forced in order to preserve herself and her secrets. Rin was completely and entirely at ease. A long time ago, she could vaguely remember feeling this way. When her father would tell stories before the fire, her older brothers listening intently on the dirt floor of their humble home, while her mother rocked her sleepy little self.

Would it really be better for your mother to be dead under Inu rule than alive under your own king's?

The memory of Naraku's words shocked her like a physical blow and she pushed away from her lord, breath quickening in panic. Now. She had to tell him. He would be meeting with the emperor and there was no way the evil advisor could know that she was telling the crown prince of his plans.

The door splintered, a gale forcing it to burst open.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagura screamed, as devastated as if she had just watched him gutted before her helpless eyes. The heavy eye makeup she was accustomed to wearing was running down her face in messy dark tracks that stained their path all the way down to the collar of her loosely tied robes. "Oh gods, tell me you have not been harmed!"

Her husband gave her an annoyed look, the kind one would shoot a yappy dog. In her distress, Kagura had not at first noticed the intimate scene she had intruded on, but Rin knew the exact moment she did. It was like it always was before one of their meetings turned particularly violent. The wind witch went entirely still, eyes wide and compelling in their scarlet madness, and the very air in the room stilled along with her, making it that much more difficult to pull into her lungs. At a glance, her lord did not seem similarly affected. Perhaps most of it was in her head, an automatic response to the years of abuse.

"Rin," Kagura said, so much softer yet not kind like her lord, "have you been hurt?"

"Do you trust me so little that you would believe I would allow Rin to be harmed?" Sesshomaru said. Rin was grateful that he had responded for her since she could not find her voice.

Kagura's face crumpled anew and she knelt at his feet. Her arms circled his calves and Rin wondered if Sesshomaru felt as trapped as he seemed.

"Seeing you now, knowing you are fine… Gods, Sesshomaru, I thought…" She did not say what she thought, but Rin had a feeling her fears and her mistress' stemmed from the same man. "Were I not who I am and able to force the air into my lungs, I would have fainted with relief."

The crown prince stared down at the woman he was legally compelled to share the rest of his life with. She was usually a mess but considerately kept herself sequestered away so he would not have to be reminded of it. After he had assured himself Rin was okay, he planned on going to see her. If her panic over him was anything like his for Rin, he wished only for her to be comforted and reassured. Even if it was insulting that she believed anyone could even come close to bringing him serious harm.

Sesshomaru patted her head, just the once. It was the most physical contact they'd had in he could not even remember how long, and his wife looked up at him in awe and a kind of heartbreak he was not familiar enough with to even identify.

Rin quietly excused herself.

Another time. She would tell him another time. If even Kagura had feared her father had hurt Sesshomaru, then she who had no idea of what she was up against was no longer so confident. Perhaps she would have to meet with the emperor himself, but how would she even manage that? She was tolerated at best by the rest of the royal family. This was going to take some serious thought. Until she was ready to tell her lord and knew the right words, she trusted Sesshomaru to protect her.

Rin could only hope that he would believe her and take mercy on Kagura and herself.

O\o/O

When Inuyasha returned to his room, Kagome was pacing the floors of his room, having completely disobeyed his order to go to her own chamber and lock the door. It was just as he expected. After the meeting with his father, he was hesitant to approach her, torn between wanting to reach out and touch her and wanting to run away and just head off to Hekigan without telling her or seeing her or smelling her…

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screeched, running to him.

The scent of her fear alarmed him and he scanned the room on high alert, looking for a threat. It was only when he was distracted by her throwing herself against him in an embrace that he realized she wasn't scared of something, she had been frightened for him. His arms tightened around her and he held her close, pressing his lips to the crown of her head. Now that her adrenaline had worn off, she trembled, and he made soothing sounds to try and reassure her that she was safe, he was safe, and they were together and that was never going to change.

She pulled away first. Her worried blue eyes searched his body, too preoccupied with checking him for wounds that she didn't notice the cape of his she still wore gaped open, exposing her breasts entirely.

As always after a good win, Inuyasha was desirous of some female company. Her company. He grabbed her wrists and yanked her back to him, missing the heat of her, and kissed her before she could even draw breath. Kagome whimpered, head swirling with half-forgotten thoughts and new feelings. When she stopped being so stiff and swayed towards him, he brought her arms around his neck and ran his hands over her body under the borrowed cape.

Kagome wondered if she had married Hojo when they were fifteen as he wished, would she have felt this way, be overcome by this agonizing fire of pleasure that had made a home in her body? Would Hojo's flat nails make her feel the same way as Inuyasha's claws running over the sensitive skin of her navel, circling over her belly button? Would Hojo's soft, perpetually damp hands feel as good on her nipples as Inuyasha's calloused warrior's palms? Would she respond the same way to Hojo's thin lips and chipped teeth as she did to her captor's full mouth and nipping fangs?

"Inuyasha," she moaned without meaning to. Before the thought she wanted to voice could fly away, she grabbed onto it. "You're bleeding."

"Not my blood," he replied simply.

Kagome could hear the grin in his voice. Her eyes opened and she pulled away. Goddess be praised that the idiot dog was stupid enough to keep reminding her of his vileness. It was high time she reminded herself and never forgot what he was, what he had done, no matter how he was with her.

He was not her friend.

He was not her lover.

He was not the one she was promised to.

Inuyasha was the enemy. He was the one who had killed and destroyed everyone and everything she had ever held dear. All he was good for was use. She would use him as a vehicle to get back to Hojo, to safety, to her station, to her kingdom. But until then, she had to pretend and remember.

"What's wrong?" he murmured, cupping her face so gently that her eyes half-closed and she almost kissed him again. "Your eyes went dark. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "N-nothing… It's just…" Kagome shook with rage now, not fear. She buried her face in his chest again, not able to look him in the eye anymore. "I was so scared for you. I thought you might never come back."

Inuyasha didn't know what to say to that. Hell, he didn't even know what to fucking do other than hold her close, nose working overtime trying to sniff out her feelings. No lies. No deception. Just her warmth and her snuggling embrace.

Before Kagome, when he returned from a fight to his chosen woman or women, the both of them would lose themselves to passion and it would be another battle taking place, but this time in his bed. Or cot. Or on the table. Against the wall. In a pond. In the dirt. Anywhere and everywhere, really. But what was happening right now was so foreign to him that he trembled a little himself. Kagome had been scared. She had been waiting. The others had delighted in the sight of his wounds, exclaiming over them and remarking on his bravery. But Kagome had nearly been brought to tears by the sight of blood that wasn't even his own staining his skin. Worry had overwhelmed want, and whatever she was feeling for him was purer and deeper than anything any other woman had ever felt for him, despite what they claimed.

"Let's go to bed."

"What!?" Kagome squeaked.

He chuckled at the look on her face, the pink blush that crept up her cheeks.

"Not like that. I know how scared you were, Kagome. It's okay. We don't…" It pained him to say it, but he wanted to give her something of what she had given him. "We don't hafta do anything but sleep. We can talk if you want to talk. I won't push you to keep your promise. You only said you'd give in to help your friend, and that's not what I want." Both his hands framed her face and he made her look him in the eye. "I want you to say yes because you want me and you're ready."

"Y-you're not going to force me?"

"I never was." A downright evil glint flickered in his eyes and she nearly flinched. "But I ain't gonna stop trying to 'convince' you. Take all the time you need. It's not like you're going anywhere."

He tugged on her collar and all her sudden goodwill towards him evaporated.

"Thank you," she said. It was strange to both mean and not mean something at the same time. The dog was pushing her into places she didn't even know existed.

Inuyasha grabbed her hand and pulled her over to his bed. How she felt about continuing to share a bed with him remained a mystery to her. The position of a bed slave was a convenient one to have if she wanted to take her revenge, but she was loath to act without a direct order from Kikyo. Once she gave into him—which she wouldn't, not ever—he would lose interest and send her to the harem. That would bring her close to her Queen, but then she'd lose this strategic position. It seemed like the best thing to do would be nothing at all and wait for her sister to send her word. Just play her part and get as close as possible so he would take her to Hekigan if she didn't get anything from Kikyo before then.

Until then, it only made sense for her to try and at least get some enjoyment out of her temporary role.

The thoughts tumbling through her head came to an abrupt halt when Inuyasha undid the gold clasp of his firerat cape and tossed it to the ground, leaving her naked. The look in his eyes, that powerful desire that infected and overwhelmed her, made her knees weak and she was glad she was standing before the bed. Kagome sat down hard and looked up at the prince.

He was half-naked, muscled torso dusted with ash from protecting her and splattered with the blood of his enemies. Seeing the two contrasts made her even more confused. Inuyasha had put himself in harm's way for her, choosing to protect her over his allies. Her brow furrowed and she reached out to touch him, skimming her hand along his abdomen, wondering if in the Inu empire a slave like her was worth more than the prince's shirt and safety.

Inuyasha sucked in a breath. "Don't worry, I'll wash up. But first…"

He kissed her. Just lips, just tenderness, no tongue and no seduction. He just wanted to. Again and again he kissed her mouth until she responded. Kagome didn't know why, but she was crying. Her heart was splintering into pieces and all she could do about it was bring him closer, tilt her head back, give him better access. Her breath began to come in hiccups and gasps and Inuyasha broke away, arranging them in a spooning position on the bed.

"Let it out," he whispered, stroking her hair, comforting her as not even the servants who had been paid to do so had done. "I'm here. You're safe. Everything's fine now that we're together."

Not even the sobs that racked her body stopped her from feeling how perfectly he fit against her.

Somehow, she slept, the prince's words in her ears and dreams. When she woke, it was morning. Inuyasha was blinking as though he had also just woken and he smiled at her.

"Sorry," he said. "Guess I was pretty tired. I didn't take a bath."

The fact that he was apologizing to his slave over a promise she'd forgotten stunned her, but then she remembered how she had looked at the ash and blood on his body. He had wanted to erase it for her sake.

"That's okay," she said, voice still hoarse from crying. "We can bathe together."

His thick black brows raised in surprise that she ignored, leading the way to the sunken tub. She watched him turn the faucets, still in awe of water that came out hot without any need for servants to hold it over a flame and pour it in.

"You can pick the scent," he said, looking somehow bashful as he tested the temperature, eyes fixed on the water and not on her.

Kagome looked over the neatly arranged little glass bottles in the woven gold basket. She knew from experience all of them were very subtle so as not to offend a canine nose and also very expensive.

"What's your favorite?"

His fingers fumbled in the basket and he pulled out a bottle marked with a saffron label.

"It's vanilla and amber. A little almond. Cinnamon." It was soft and comforting with a little something that tantalized. Like her.

She poured the oily contents in the tub and watched it swirl golden, a light layer of bubbles frothing up. Inuyasha turned off the tap and she stepped inside. He turned and was about to undress the rest of the way, hands on the waistband of his trousers, but a tug on the hem stopped him. When he turned, Kagome was at level with his crotch and his cock twitched. Her hands rose from the water and he couldn't breathe, eyes fixated on the droplets that ran from her fingers and clung to her skin. Kagome unbuttoned his fly and his pants fell to the floor, semi-hard cock out in the open between them. Inuyasha cringed. He had been trying not to look at her so this wouldn't happen, wanting to give her some time like he said. Wanting to be a person of comfort to her.

Her eyes, bluer than any deep water he had seen, beckoned him and he nearly tripped and fell, ankles constrained by his trousers. Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha stepped out of his pants and carefully slipped into the tub. Kagome was scrubbing her skin, all business, but his fingers itched to drag the cloth over her breasts and stomach himself. Glancing down at the bubbles, he wondered if the layer was thick enough that he could stroke himself without her noticing.

"Come here," she ordered, and he obeyed without thinking.

He faced her, struck dumb by how much he wanted to suck the suds from her nipples despite the taste of the soap. Gently, she turned him around and sat him down in the water so that only his head and shoulders were above it. Old suspicions creeped into his mind and he idly wondered if she was planning on slitting his throat, but then she dunked the gold pitcher into the water and poured it over his head. Another bottle from the basket was dumped on his hair and he realized her intentions were much worse.

"What the fuck are you trying to do?" he hissed, grabbing her wrist.

Unperturbed, she brought her other hand to his head and lathered the soap into his hair. "I'm going to wash your hair." She sighed and the sound made him loosen up just a little. "It's so pretty. You really don't appreciate it."

Inuyasha grumbled and sank further in the water. What was it with girls and his hair? Ever since he had been a child, even his nannies had fought over brushing and combing and washing it until he felt so emasculated he threatened to shave it all off. But then Kagome got into a rhythm and he closed his eyes, leaning back into her. Fuck, but that felt good. Her fingers massaged small circles into his scalp and it felt almost as nice as her hard nipples against his back.

The tip of her finger caressed his ear and he tensed up again.

"I really do love these," she said.

Those words combined with her touch made his ear twitch and flick uncontrollably, which of course made her giggle and become even more enchanted by it.

"Just don't get any soap or water in 'em," he grumbled.

The attention of Kagome's fingers focused on his ears and massaged them, playing with them. He didn't think she was aware of what her touch was doing to him. All he could think about was her taking her mouth and sucking the tips of his ears until her cheeks concaved, tongue licking them up and down. Fuck, he had never had thoughts like this before. Sure, in his adolescence, self-exploration usually involved a hand on his ear and another in his pants, but he hadn't done that since he'd lost his virginity and realized girls weren't exactly into that. But Kagome didn't know anything about half-demons and stigmas and old prejudices and maybe if he was very good she would—

The second he realized where his thoughts were going, he flipped around and fixed her with a glare as though his most vulnerable horny thoughts were all her fault. Kagome stared at him with wide, confused eyes and he came back to himself a little. Just a little.

"Hold still," he grunted.

One hand braced itself on the intricate tile mosaic rim of the tub and the other instantly found his cock. His touch was not like hers, not gentle and teasing. He grabbed at his erection like he hated it, because right now he did, working his hand in rough jerking movements. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open, his tongue tasting her scent on the air as he remembered her taste and that look in her eyes that told him she wanted him badly but would rather die than give in.

Ropes of his cum shot into the water and he collapsed against her, his mouth just barely meeting its target of her own. It had all happened so fast that Kagome's hands were still hovering in the air, covered in suds.

"Sorry," he said again, separating from her. "I just… You smell good," he said lamely. Inuyasha was disappointed in himself. He had promised to be different and hours later was jerking off in front of her like a rabid monkey because she did something as innocent as wash his hair. What must she think of him?

"Your ears," she said, "are very sensitive?"

He nodded. That was putting it mildly.

Kagome tugged on one and his hips jerked, a whimper leaving his lips at the unexpected pleasure. The smile she gave him was one he didn't exactly like.

"Thanks for the show."

The rest of their bath was uneventful, though Inuyasha's face was red the entire time. No other woman knew his little secret and he felt exposed. It took a while after they dried off and dressed for him to even remember his original plans for the day.

"C'mon, we're leavin'," he announced, grabbing her hand and marching out the door.

Kagome was barely able to be glad that at least this time she was clothed and not attached to a leash. The gown she wore of sheer layers of lavender silk was long and clinging, making walking at Inuyasha's pace difficult. It also made her feel even more on display than crawling through these same halls had. As they passed nobles and servants alike, most of them praising Inuyasha for yet another glorious victory, she did not have the luxury of being forced to stare at the ground. Her always curious eyes took in everyone and everything. The rich clothes and décor, the polished personages who raised a brow and appraised her like a breeding mare. As prince, Inuyasha ignored them and received nothing in return but more adoration. As slave, Kagome felt every lascivious gaze like a cutting blow to her soul.

By the time they arrived in the training room, she was out of breath and wanted to cry.

"Here."

Inuyasha thrust some big cumbersome thing in her arms. After a moment, she recognized it to be a bow. Kikyo had a few of these back home. They were her favorite weapon, hers and most of the other priestesses. Kagome had never touched one before, without powers as she was.

It took a lot for her to just glare at him and not throw the damned thing to the ground and stomp on it.

"It's heavy," she complained.

For some reason, he smiled, and for some reason, that eased the pain in her heart a little.

"This is child-sized. You're so tiny I thought it would be okay. Guess I'll have to get you a custom set."

"What are we doing here?" She looked around at the weapons hanging on the walls, the padded floors, the dummies and targets across the big room. Didn't he normally do this with Sango?

"I'm teaching you how to protect yourself."

That boyish blush stole over his cheeks once again and she felt the same confidence she had experienced before when he had lost himself at her touch.

"Why should I have to do that when you said you'd protect me always?"

His face flamed brighter and he scowled. "I didn't say always!"

Kagome pouted and it was very difficult for Inuyasha not to kiss her. Instead, he stood behind her and gathered her heavy hair off her neck, discreetly sniffing her and remembering how those hands that were about to blister had washed him so carefully. Taking a red ribbon out of his pocket he'd purchased just for her, he tied her hair back.

"…It would hurt me if anyone ever hurt you," he said, still standing behind her as he could not face her and admit that at the same time. "A bow and arrow will allow you to always keep your distance from a fight."

His hands were on her shoulders and Kagome could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck that made goosebumps stand up on her skin yet still wasn't nearly as hot as how she felt inside when she heard the real emotion in his voice. That fluttering feeling she got in her chest sometimes when she was with him nearly overwhelmed her and she gripped the wooden bow tight, trying to get a hold of herself.

"But I'm gonna train you my way," he continued. "The bitches back in Higurashi were good with a bow, but Inu still beat them, so keep in mind you're learning from the winner."

Just when she wondered where the barbed projectile was, he gave it to her. His hands adjusted her arms and legs until she was in a stance she recognized as that of the archer's. It was a position she had never thought to be in, even more unlikely than being a slave of a dog. This was the weapon and stance of the highest elite, something she had been destined for by birthright but her own deformity prevented her from realizing. That Inuyasha would give her this made her wonder what the hell the goddess was thinking.

Inuyasha was a little worried that she wasn't snapping at him or trying to get out of it. His arms circled her just under her breasts and he rested his chin on top of her head.

"For every arrow that at least hits the target, I'll give you a kiss—wherever you want it." She snorted and he smiled. "But for every arrow you waste, Kagome, I'm going to whip you." His arms tightened around her and she gasped a little, more at the way her name sounded in his mouth than at the threat. "If you ever manage to hit the bullseye, I'll kiss you right where I know you want it."

At that, Kagome accidentally lost her grip on the bowstring and the arrow fell a foot away from them, swooping down pathetically. Inuyasha laughed and walked to the wall, carving a tally on the stone.

"That doesn't count!" she said, all flustered over the thought of getting whipped by him again.

"Didn't know I could distract you like that," he said. "I was just gonna make loud noises and shit." When she notched another arrow and aimed, he said, "You look beautiful in that color. It brings out your eyes. Plus I can see your tits through the dress."

This time, she was much closer to hitting the target, but still fell far short. She blamed it on sweaty palms and weak knees. Inuyasha laughed and clawed another tally on the wall. Kagome strung the bow again and sucked in a pained breath.

"This hurts!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh no, the princess' tender fingers are hurting. Better she not learn how to save herself from death and worse."

Kagome glared at him, jaw clenched. "Shut up!"

The arrow flew out of her grasp without her even being aware of having let go of the bowstring, as though propelled by the deepest will of her heart. The two of them heard the thunk and looked in amazement at where it had landed.

Kagome had hit the target's center without even looking.

"Damn," Inuyasha said after a pause. "You want your kiss later or should I stick my head under your skirts now?"

She took a second to think about it before deciding that was beneath her. "Stop talking when I'm aiming. It's annoying."

Inuyasha walked over to her and took her face in his hands, kissing her on that part of her forehead where the bone protruded the slightest bit just where her eyebrow arched. Her lips parted and she caught herself just before she raised up on tiptoes and kissed him properly.

"Good job, Kagome," he murmured, and goddess above, the way he said her name was different from how everyone else said it and it made her feel things. "If someone had taught you to protect yourself before, you might still be in Higurashi."

That made her pause. The prince was giving her a skill that could help her get away from him. What kind of idiot did that? When she saw that warm glow in his eyes, her stomach flipped in answer.

She wanted to stab an arrow through his heart just for daring to inspire that reaction in her.

Her training continued for what felt like forever but was really only fifteen minutes, according to Inuyasha. Still, her arms were in agony. And Kikyo had undergone far more rigorous training while still a child. It must have been so hard!

Kagome finally allowed herself to throw down the bow but refrained from stomping on it. "I'm done! This is too hard!" Her lips twisted in a pout again as she saw the tallies on the wall. Far more whips than kisses. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Inuyasha was disappointed by her declaration but not surprised. "Fuck, I know I've been spoiling you, but you do realize my nickname for you isn't true, right? You're not a princess. You don't get to have your way. You'd think following orders would be easier for a fuckin' maid."

The reminder of the life she had pretended to lead combined with how she hadn't at all been expecting such commentary when he had been so nice today made her even angrier.

"You know nothing about the life I led before you stole me from it!" she hissed, eyes narrowing. What did his gift of clothes and protection mean when he could still be so cruel? Worse than nothing.

He barked out a laugh. "I know you had a fucking boyfriend. You never thought to mention that?" He tried to throw the words at her casually but they came out with exactly the amount of anger and betrayal he felt.

"He wasn't my 'boyfriend', we were to be married! The sooner the better!" All her time away from Hojo had allowed her to build up a false version of both him and their relationship in her mind and now he was the kind of prince that starred in Kaede's stories.

"You—are—mine!" he roared, losing himself so suddenly that neither of them expected it. "Mine! You're never going to see him again, understand? He's probably dead. What was he, Kagome, a soldier? One of those axe-wielding savages I beheaded?"

"No!" she screamed, face red with a matching rage. "He is nothing like that. He is nothing like you, and that's why I love him!"

The silence with which he responded to her words surprised her more than anything else he could have said or done. Something in his eyes, that special softness she only saw when he looked at her, disappeared and was replaced by something worse than had been there when they were still strangers. Inuyasha moved so fast that her human eyes could not follow him and before she knew what was happening, he had tossed her over his shoulder and they were bounding back the way they had come.

It was like the courtiers and servants were accustomed to a sight like this or something, because no one said anything or even looked his way. Perhaps they were just wiser than she. Kagome kicked and punched his back and yelled every demonic slur she could think of. He neither slowed down nor responded. It seemed like he might not even realize her movements, so intent he was on their destination.

They had departed his room recently enough that the scent of their intimate bath still lingered in the air, the sweet memory bringing tears to her eyes. Inuyasha tossed her on the bed without gentleness and she nearly bounced right off. The only thing that stopped her from falling to the floor was him grabbing at her and yanking off the dress he had only just complimented her on, claws shredding it into strips. She was paralyzed at the sight of the destruction, mouth gaping open, clothed in nothing but the red ribbon he had tied her hair up with.

With quick, brief movements, Inuyasha forced her arms and legs apart from where she had tried to curl in on herself and tied each limb to a bed post with sloppy knots. She was crying fully now, gasping, but not pleading.

This wasn't like the last time he had whipped her.

Back then, Inuyasha had Sango to hold him in check. Now it was just the two of them and it seemed like her words had angered him more than her actions in the dungeon ever had. The crop came down on her with enough force that her entire body jumped at every hit of the leather against her skin. The blows weren't calculated and practiced, designed to tease. This was punishment, raining down on erogenous zones and the rest of her prone flesh alike. It wasn't the same, not even close to the same.

Was she seeing things, or did he look even more like a beast than ever before? Fangs and claws were both extended and there was a crimson tint to his eyes that both repelled her and made her want to draw him closer. And the way she was reacting to him was beastly, too.

Kagome's shrieks no longer had the quality of fear in them. Had the door not been enchanted, an eavesdropping guard would have developed quite the erection at the sound. The leather made her skin so sensitive and the way she squirmed on the silky soft sheets was making her feel weird and she knew it was wrong. Her hips were raised above the bed, tilted up in offering to her prince and his punishments. They moved in a hypnotically seductive manner with every touch. The parting of her center was pink and dripping, her clit poking out and begging for attention. Every part of her showed how much she wanted him and he focused on her glistening hymen, mocking him with its continued existence.

"Fuck!" he cursed, throwing the crop across the room.

Kagome was about to ask why he stopped but then he shut her up by diving between her spread legs and giving her that long-awaited kiss he had promised earlier.

Her cry was high and keening and she bucked against him, throwing her head back at the feeling of his mouth on her where she wanted him most. His tongue dipped inside her cunt and collected the juices that ran freely, his wildly working nose nudging her stiff little clit. The grunts he made were bestial, animalistic, violent, disgusting, and entirely arousing. Neither of them noticed when she freed a hand through the hastily looped knot of fabric and tangled her fingers in his hair, directing his touch with a caress to his ear. Inuyasha nipped her thigh to chastise her.

The taste and smell of her blood brought him back to himself.

He stopped, lips smeared with her blood and pussy juice. Kagome was stretched out on his bed, mostly restrained, and he only had vague memories of how this had come to be. She was breathing hard, tears staining her flushed face. Her skin, so soft and beautiful, was covered in welts and marks that would certainly bruise. The sweet taste of her in his mouth turned sour. Inuyasha felt sick.

Shoving away from her, he tried to go, but she tightened her grip on his hair.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Inuyasha had no idea. All he knew was he couldn't handle the feel of her skin when he was like this and didn't know what he might do.

"Stay on the bed, bitch," he said, voice deeper and hoarser than it should be.

The word activated her collar and she got into position, her other hand freeing itself from its bonds easily. Inuyasha stared at her, unable to tear his eyes away. Fuck, but she was so pretty with her hair pulled high and her mouth open for him and her breasts topped with hard, suckable nipples jutting out…

"Fuck, Kagome," he whimpered. "Stay like that. Just stay like that and let me touch myself to the sight of you so I can get some of my fuckin' sanity back."

For the second time in a day, Inuyasha stroked himself filled with shame. How long had it been since he had resorted to his own touch? Years at least. But no one else would do but her. His mouth fell open in a groan and he tilted his head back, eyes closing and tearing at the pleasure. Everything that she was swirled around him, inside and out, and he wondered what would happen if she was as resolved not to give in to him as she claimed to be.

A hand covered his own on his cock. At first he thought he imagined it, but when he opened his eyes, he confirmed that it was really happening. Kagome was touching him.

"You lost control. Someone has to take it," was all she said before she pushed him down to the floor, tackling him and engulfing his hard cock with her hot mouth.

"Oh gods," he wheezed, leaning on his elbows so he could watch her. "What the fuck are you doing, Kagome?"

She pulled his cock out of her mouth and gave him a little smirk that made him think they were perhaps spending too much time together.

"Don't worry, I won't bite you this time."

When she sucked him down her throat again, he moaned and forgot to hold himself up, his head cracking down on the hard floor with so much force that he would have given himself a concussion or worse had he been human. Mercifully, Kagome either ignored him or didn't notice, continuing to slurp away at his cock like it was her last meal.

During a normal blowjob, he would have talked dirty, teased the girl a little, and finished only when she felt like her jaw was never going to work the same again. But this was far from normal and he couldn't even make normal noises, choking on his tongue as he was. Inuyasha ended up finishing in record time, shooting his cum down her greedy throat with the force of a cannon. Dazed, he wondered if it had even been a full minute.

Kagome crawled up on him and hovered over his chin, her pussy dripping sweet nectar that he could just catch if he allowed his tongue to snake out like it wanted to.

"Now you do me."

The small bit of his mind he had regained with his orgasm was just enough for him to grit out a reply. "I don't think so."

Her brows came together in angry confusion and he recognized the frenzy in her eyes. "I put my mouth on you," she said slowly. "Now you do me. It's your turn. Finish what you started!"

"That's not the deal, princess." He smirked. "Gimme a minute and my cock will spring right back up with a word. Just one yes. Just give me that sweet cherry of yours and I'll give you the world."

Kagome's sound of exasperated frustration was almost as gratifying as licking her pussy until it bust would be.

"You stupid dog!" she yelled, trying to get to her feet and getting tangled in the shredded bonds that used to be her dress. "You're so—You're so—Ugh!"

She tripped and Inuyasha caught her, turning her over so he was on top of her this time.

"You have very kissable lips, y'know," he said, brushing his mouth over her angry one. Now that he had calmed somewhat, he was able to look at her and enjoy her without wanting to forcefully burrow inside her. "These, too." His claws circled her nipples and she gasped, some of the anger fading from her face, desire softening her expression. "I like them. Dream about them. In my dreams, they taste like berries. But when I'm awake…" He leaned down and sucked one and then the other into his mouth, moaning. Golden eyes clashed against hers and he grinned wickedly. "Even sweeter."

"You drive me crazy." Her voice was faint.

"Welcome to the club." He brushed his fingers over the welts and she shivered. The scent wasn't a pained one and he was pleased. When he touched her thigh, rough, worried fingers scraping over where he had bitten her, her hips shot up and she gasped.

Kagome pressed herself into his knee and ground into the bone, seeking something he still retained the presence of mind to refuse her.

"Please!" she begged, desperation making her voice all the sexier, which got his tired cock perking up again. "Show me what it's like, Inuyasha. I want to feel what I made you feel. I want to know what I'm missing."

Her hands were lost in his hair again and she pressed his face into the side of her neck. He knew she had no idea what her body wanted from him, but he did, and his fangs lengthened in response. Fuck, he couldn't breathe. A thought fleeted through his mind that his mother was going to be so pissed off about the fruitless balls, but that was nothing compared to any more bouts of blue balls…

A knock on the door that was barely loud enough for even him to hear rescued him and he scrambled away from her, hand covering his mouth. A quick glance at his cock showed him that he was as hard as before, like he hadn't just had release. What the fuck was going on?

"Get in the bath," he said, jaw clenched tight. "Wash our scent off or so help me…"

Kagome scampered away, looking torn between anger at the interruption and shame at how she had acted. "Our scent", he had said. Fuck, but he had been sharing a bed with her and spending all his time with her and he had been about to—

The knock came again, louder this time, and Inuyasha marched over to the door, yanking it open.

The eunuch guard who seemed to be guarding Sango more often than Kagome stood there and Inuyasha glared at him, waiting for him to say why he had decided to disturb the prince of Inu. The guard's eyes were on the floor, or almost the floor, rather. It took Inuyasha a second to realize what the man was staring at.

"Don't tell me you forgot what a proper cock looks like already," he drawled. His erection was quickly going soft now that Kagome was no longer grinding on him. "Now hurry up and tell me what the fuck this is about."

"Uh, er, my utmost apologies, your royal highness," he said with a shallow bow, eyes still on his cock. "I come with news from the infirmary." At the blank look on Inuyasha's face, he continued, "About the lady Sango."

"Oh, yeah. What about 'er?"

Miroku visibly tensed at the prince's seeming lack of care for his fair companion who fought alongside him with an enviable devotion.

"The lady Sango's injury is not so bad as originally thought. She can move about but will not be able to fight immediately. Despite that, she is healing fast and should be back in shape in hardly any time."

"Good to hear." The prince was noticeably distracted by the faint splashing sounds Miroku could just barely hear. "Tell her to be back at work as soon as she's bandaged up and shit."

He moved to close the door but Miroku put one booted foot in the way. "The lady is injured and should be allowed time to rest," he said, sounding almost forceful.

Inuyasha glared at the pest. "The 'lady' is a shadow and sworn to a life of protection. There is no such thing as rest for her, especially not after we were just attacked in our very own fucking floating palace. Now leave, I've got a slave to punish."

"The lady was right," Miroku said. Inuyasha's ears perked up. "She bet me a whole week's pay that you would not come visit her but rather demand she return to your side, filling the day with idle pleasure to amuse yourself."

That made Inuyasha growl. "I was just about to see her!" he lied, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just need to lock up my slave first. Wait here."

He slammed the door and walked to the bathroom, grumbling about how much he wished the eunuch's balls would grow back so he could rip them off again.

While Inuyasha was talking to her guard, Kagome was soothing her aching body in the hot bath. After the initial sting of the scents and oils on her broken skin, she felt a lot better. The water was still clear enough that she could mostly see through it and she inspected her wounds. The damage was far milder than she had expected. With a hiss, she poked at the pink welts decorating her body. Remembering how they were made got her feeling that intense desire between her legs again. Her fingers brushed over where Inuyasha had bitten her and she moaned aloud.

Today, in this very tub, Inuyasha had brought himself to climax using only his own hand, no one and nothing else. Had such a thing always been possible? Was it possible for her, too? Kagome continued to stroke the bite mark, her other hand coming to her breasts. He had said they were kissable. Sweet. Her fingers didn't feel anywhere near as good as his mouth, but they still felt damn good, especially when she replayed how he had looked at her in her mind.

The hand on the bite mark switched to that place between her legs and she recalled the shame of begging him to finish her, to show her. Why did she keep thinking about it? Why did it make her fingers move faster over her clit?

Inuyasha walked in to the sight of his slave biting her lip, back arched so her breasts were out of the water and he could see the death grip with which she pinched one nipple. It didn't take much imagination to figure out what her other hand was doing.

The half-demon dragged her out of the water and sat down on one of the gilded benches that decorated the room.

"Fuck!" he cursed. Her squirming had his cock standing straight up again. "Fuck, you've got me so fucking—fuck! Can't even find a fucking word for it. Can't leave you alone for a fucking second!"

He brought his hand down on her bottom and Kagome yelped. "What are you doing!?"

They had done this before. At the beginning, before he had known just what a fucking headache she was going to be. But back then he was thinking of other things and she was too scared for either of them to take any real pleasure in it.

"Only I can bring you pleasure, Kagome," he said, his palm raining down blows on her ass until it turned the sweetest shade of pink. "No one else. No one else! I'm gonna tie your fucking hands up even when you fucking sleep! Drive you to the brink every fucking hour until you either give in or break. Make you understand I'm the only one who can ever satisfy you." He ranted and raved, spanking her with all the fury he felt at her rejection.

Inuyasha didn't know when exactly it happened, but Kagome's knees were on the bench and her ass was lifted in the air to better receive her punishment, which had changed from hard slaps to light spanks and squeezes with the occasional dip between her legs. Her nails were digging into his thigh and she was wiggling her ass, chanting his name, egging him on, making him lose himself further.

The half-demon was at a loss. No one had ever pushed and pulled him like Kagome had. The mixed signals had him spinning in circles. He stopped, curling his fingers into his palms until they pierced the skin.

"Get the fuck up," he said, sounding harsher than he intended if the look on her face was any indication. "We're going to see Sango."

Yes, Sango. He needed Sango by his side now more than ever. Who would have thought that the most challenging thing to guard him from would be such a tiny virgin from the middle of nowhere who manipulated his desire like it was her favorite game?

Kagome pouted. "Now?"

He stood on shaking limbs and forced her to her room, picking a dress at random and tugging it over her head. There was no way they could be alone together when she was naked until she gave in and let him fuck her.

"Silk," he said, frowning at the garment. "And you're still wet."

She brought his hand to cup her vulva through the thin dress. "I'm wetter here."

It was like a bomb had gone off in his brain and there was nothing left but want for the bitch that tormented him. Inuyasha backed her up against the wall and pressed his cock against her, humping against the warmth he needed more than anything. Kagome made a sound of delight and both her hands went to his hips, pulling him closer.

"What the fuck are you doing to me?" he groaned in agony, his mouth pressing against her own. "Do you want me to force you? Is that what you want? To tell me no, to have me take the choice away from you so you can hate me after?"

Kagome stayed silent for a moment. "I want to feel good."

It was such a simple statement that he laughed and pushed away from her, slumping against the door. Of course, there was nothing going on up there in her mind, no devious manipulations and plots. She was just a maid from Higurashi, his stubborn little bitch of a slave. Kagome was going to hold out until he tempted her enough. All he had to do was keep edging her and she'd break like the rest. Already she was so close.

He felt close to something as new to him as sex was to her and had even less of an idea what it was.

Her chain was right where he'd left it when he'd paraded her through the halls and he clicked it on to her collar, gritting his teeth against how much her sound of dismay could have easily been one she made when he hit her spot just right.

"Walk behind me!" he barked at her.

Kagome knew enough to stay quiet and obey. He was relieved since he felt he wouldn't be able to stand the sound of her voice let alone the sight of her in her almost completely transparent white gown walking in front of him with ass cheeks he had made rosy shining through the fabric. That would be enough to have him rutting her like a rabid dog in the fucking halls. He was beginning to regret making all her clothes sheer. It had seemed like a fun idea at the time, as well as a good one since that was the fashion the court ladies preferred and he'd thought it would make her happy.

When they got to the infirmary, Miroku was already there, simpering and waiting on Sango like a table servant rather than a guard. As soon as the shadow saw her prince, she got to her feet, not looking injured at all, though Miroku winced for her.

"Your highness!" she said, hands clasped in front of her as though trying to hold back from touching him.

Kagome snorted.

Sango gave her a brief glare before turning simpering puppy dog eyes on Inuyasha, already having forgotten that she was mad at him for protecting a slave rather than her.

"What brings you here, my prince? Has something else occurred?"

"Nah. Your faithful idiot here told me you were better, so we came to see ya."

Sango gave Miroku a look that promised punishment, and not the kind Inuyasha gave Kagome. "I ordered you not to tell him!"

He shrugged with one shoulder, looking surly now that her attention had been taken from him. "My apologies, dear lady, but I work for the prince, not you."

Sango raised a hand to slap him but Inuyasha shook his head, stopping her.

"It's not worth it, Sango. Save it for the slave."

"What did she do now?"

"She denied me." Inuyasha yanked her chain hard just remembering and brought her to his side, fixing her beautiful face with a fierce glare. Her hair was still up with the ribbon he had given her, the ends of her waves dripping water on her dress so it clung to her, more see-through than not. His heart ached at how much he wanted to be alone with her, to kiss and touch her and have her tell him yes and other sweet things instead of fighting him. Though the way she fought was rather nice…

"What else is new?" Sango said, already tired of the subject. In the short time she had been away from her prince's side, he was already looking at the girl differently. It was almost like the way Miroku looked at her.

He scowled at her. "She denied me," he repeated, "and I turned around for a moment and came back to find her touching herself."

His shadow laughed while Miroku looked a little too interested. Kagome flushed.

"So the slave prefers her own hand over your very talented tongue?"

Being gossiped about among people who were practically strangers and ignored her like she wasn't even there was too much for her to handle.

"It's my own body!" Kagome protested. "I can make it feel nice if you're not going to."

Inuyasha yanked on her chain again until they were almost nose to nose.

"It is not your body, it's mine. I paid for it. I own it. Mine." Turning back to Sango, he said, "We've had a long day. Rest up. But come back to work soon, Sango. I need you."

The sincerity in his eyes and voice was all she needed to fall head over heels in love with him all over again.

"Yes, my prince," she said to his departing back. "I'll be back as soon as I receive my official discharge, just a few more minutes."

Miroku rolled his eyes.

"I saw that!"

"My apologies, my dearest, sweetest, craveable lady, but I—"

The slap was heard clear across the hall.

Inuyasha brought Kagome back to her room. She was surprised by how much less comfortable she felt here than she did in his room. This should be her safe place of refuge, where she took a break from her captor and his evil desires. But when he sat her down on the bed and tied both her hands to a post, she nearly found herself damp-eyed at the hard look on his face.

"You're gonna stay here," he announced. "I've had enough of you today." Inuyasha darted back to his room and brought a tray of treats a servant had left for the two of them. After everything, he no longer had an appetite. "Eat. Sleep. Leave me alone."

Kagome didn't believe her eyes when she saw him leaving her. "How am I supposed to eat without hands!?" she cried, wanted to say a thousand other things but only allowed herself to say something stupid like that.

"Figure it out."

It was almost physically painful for him to close the door and go back down the secret hallway to his own room. When had this happened? When had it become so hard to leave her?

He flopped down on his bed. It still smelled of her, of her sweetness and his response to it. Inuyasha took a deep breath and held it in, his mind hovering in a place where everything was easy and perfect, where the taste of something sweeter than berries was always in his mouth.

"You look like you've aged a decade."

Inuyasha started. He must have slept, because there Sango was, watching him with that too knowing look that reminded him of one of his great-aunts.

He frowned. "In human years?"

She nodded.

"Fuck."

"Or not," she said wryly, sitting beside him. "Is that the whole of the problem?"

He shook his head. "There's that, but then there's the Human Alliance. I know Sesshomaru is supposed to figure all that out, but my mind is still racing. The Human Alliance have never dared to attack us so directly. What the fuck is going on?"

"Well, Hekigan's crown prince was engaged to marry Higurashi's younger princess. Our sources tell us that it was more than a practical match. He was obsessed with her."

Inuyasha remembered the portrait in Higurashi of the royal family, faces slashed. Who would want that little thing in the puffy pink dress? He figured that girl-child was better than a double-cousin, at least.

Sango continued, "The information you received from your little slave suggests that the prince is harboring the women, or at least the queen. Perhaps this is for them? Revenge for their country, or for the princess who may have died, for all we know."

"That doesn't make sense," he protested. "All this? Who would go to such lengths, attacking the heart of the Inu empire, over something like a mere woman? There has to be something else going on."

"Why don't you try interrogating the slave?" she said, giving him that knowing look again while just barely managing to keep her opinion out of her voice. "Obviously, she knew more than she let on, according to that letter."

The half-demon fought the urge to squirm under her gaze. After all he had already done to her, he wasn't comfortable using the kind of interrogation techniques he had been trained in on Kagome. He never wanted to actually hurt her.

Gods, but it had been a long day, feeling like it blended into the one before. The revelation that Kagome had belonged to another, her saying she loved that hated man, saving her, training her, losing himself in the feel of being with her whether good or bad. And what he had almost done when she had brought his fangs to her offered neck… Fuck, what he could have done then! And then the tub. His ears. And later. The image of her hands on her body still marked with what he had done to her was the most arousing thing he had ever seen, right up there with her finally sucking his cock like she was supposed to. Those scenes were seared into his brain like his own name, never to be forgotten.

He was hard again.

"Sorry I didn't have your back," he said. "Kagome is defenseless. She needs me."

Sango remembered the heartbreak of seeing him rush to the slave's defense rather than hers. For a second, she had seen something. Something impossible. A light that flowed from the girl to cover the both of them. Like she was protecting him and not the other way around. Inuyasha was strong, but there was no way he would remain uninjured when electrocuted, only his shirt going up in flames.

But that was impossible. There had been blood in her eyes so her sight was compromised. Or had that happened later? Whatever the case, Inuyasha had been the target of the attack and that meant she had to be even more vigilant in her duty.

"I know that," she said, dismissing her half-formed thoughts. "The girl is weak. You were obligated. And I know you like women who are strong and can take care of themselves much better," she said teasingly, leaning closer to him.

He smiled, eyes going far away again. "I'm teaching her the bow. That way she can protect herself. The idiot your brother recommended seems more a eunuch than a guard, anyway."

There was a lot that he didn't say that she understood better than what he did. How had things changed so drastically in just a day?

Sango frowned. "Miroku's not that bad. He's just…different." Like Kohaku, who hadn't sent her a letter in a suspiciously long time. "Do you plan on letting her roam about by herself?"

"Hell no! I wouldn't torture the palace like that."

"Then why are you training her? She shouldn't be handling weapons. Train her in the bed and stick her in the harem, like the others."

"I'm trying something new, Sango," he said. "Once Mom gets her way, I'll be married off to some cunt of a princess whose family will more than likely make me get rid of my harem so I don't waste my seed. Like Sesshomaru, whose virginity probably grew back by now. But if I train Kagome, I can take her and her sister on my travels through the realm as guards and bed warmers. Imagine it. A fighting unit just of my women."

Her brow raised. "And you're counting me among them?"

"Of course!"

She sighed. "You really are a dog, my prince."

He laughed. "Go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow for Kagome's punishment."

Sango rose and eyed the bed she had never been permitted to sleep beside him in. The bed he had shared with a slave for the past few nights.

This would end soon. She would make sure of it.

O\o/O

Kagome spent the entire night stewing with anger. It had been a long time since she had been this angry, not since the dungeon. How dare he! All she wanted was to finally feel the things he claimed no one else could make her feel. Maybe he couldn't deliver. Maybe that was why he had stopped her from touching herself. But goddess damn him, it wasn't Hojo or anyone else she was picturing when she closed her eyes in the tub and when she dreamed, it was that stupid dog.

By the time Inuyasha opened the door the next morning, Kagome's eyes were shadowed and she was angrily horny. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to claw his eyes out or take his cock out of his pants. As it was, she couldn't do either, since she was still bound.

Inuyasha looked at the flipped over tray of food on the ground.

"…I'm gonna guess you're hungry."

She nodded once. Her temper had gotten the better of her and she had kicked the tray at the door almost immediately after he had left. It was a moment of instant regret.

"We'll get you some food before your punishment," he said with a sigh, kneeling down to untie her.

That word and how he smelled did something to her and she grabbed his collar as soon as her hands were freed.

"I'm not hungry for food," she said in a whisper. "Not when you're here."

Inuyasha stared at her with wide eyes, swallowing repeatedly, throat suddenly dry.

"Oh no," he said. "You're not doing this to me again. Not today."

"I didn't mean to tease you," she said, pouting pink lips forming the words so prettily that his gaze was inevitably drawn to them. "I just wanted to feel what you make Sango feel. What I made you feel when I took you in my mouth."

Inuyasha closed his eyes, trying to fight against the feeling. The smell of her sweet virgin desire was overwhelming him and he felt cursed, so fucking cursed by his reaction to her.

"If I had your mouth first, I don't think I'd be so nervous about having the rest of you," she murmured, lips brushing against his own.

He realized that they were both on the bed now. When had that happened? His cape was on the floor and his shirt was unbuttoned, her hands exploring him. Was he being seduced? What the fuck was she doing to him?

Her kisses erased all his misgivings and little panics and soon her skirt was hiked up over her hips. He watched her through hooded eyes as she reached between them and stroked him over his pants, making him gasp. Kagome smiled, comfortable being in control, and stuck a finger inside herself. Inuyasha moaned aloud as though he could feel it, spreading her legs wider so he could get a better view.

"Do you like honeyed berries, Inuyasha?" she asked.

When she smeared her pussy juice over her hard nipples, he entered another state of being, a level of arousal he had never thought possible before. Kagome could tell by that red mist that fell over his eyes, the one she beckoned when she was particularly daring. His fangs lengthened too and he fixated on her pulse point, glancing between it and her shining breasts.

"Fuck." His voice was deeper and darker than it had been and the more-than-half-demon above her surrendered and attacked her breasts.

Kagome laughed aloud in happy triumph. Now she knew exactly how to make Inuyasha lose himself, and if she pushed him while he was like this, then she could finally get what she wanted without giving him what he wanted. No matter how far gone he was, she somehow knew that the second she said no, he would tear himself away. Now all she had to do was time it.

The press and prick of his fangs on her painfully sensitive breasts had her cooing and mewling in turns, squirming underneath him on the bed. His clothed cock grinded into her and she pressed back against it, afraid of what might happen and wanting it to happen anyway. Even if, as the princess of Higurashi, taking a man would have some very unfortunate consequences for the both of them…

"So good," she moaned. "Just do that down there. Please, Inuyasha! I need it!"

Some of the lust cleared from his face and he gave her that puppy-like look again, that cock of the head that made her want his cock, though she could never let him know that. Quickly, she grabbed an ear, massaging it just as she had in the tub. His eyes clouded with crimson again and he growled down at her. It would have been scary to most people, but somehow she could understand what he was trying to tell her.

Just lie back and enjoy it.

And enjoy it she did when his tongue plunged inside her, making her give a small shriek and jerk her hips. Inuyasha was tonguing her with a ferocity that matched his newly transformed self. Kagome encouraged him by caressing and teasing his ears. The sounds he made were like an animal partaking in a forbidden feast, all snarls and slurping, smacking lips. It was far from ladylike and even further from princessly, but Kagome was joining him with cat-like cries. One of her hands left his ear to play with her nipple, still slippery with her pussy juice and his saliva.

Close, she was so close. Kagome had lowered herself to the basest most awful thing she could and it was everything she had ever wanted and all she had to do was get him to suck her clit just like that, just like that—

Her sure to be earth-shattering, life-ruining, walk-changing climax was ripped away from her when Sango yanked Inuyasha back by the hair.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Kagome shrieked at her, fingers curled like she too had claws and was more than ready to lash out and attack.

Meanwhile, Sango was yelling something similar at a still dazed Inuyasha, slapping him upside the head. "Snap out of it! Gods, you'd think she had you under some kind of spell."

It took a minute, but Inuyasha made his way back to sanity. It was a painful climb going from being buried in blissfully delicious warmth to being smacked around by his shadow's rather large hands, but when he saw the mutinous look on Kagome's face, he knew it was worth it.

"You were just going to let her come and she was going to renege on letting you fuck her as soon as she came down from her high," Sango said, glaring at Kagome. "You have to keep her crazy and desperate. You should know. You're the one who came up with this stupid game."

Kagome threw a pillow at Sango, who was wary enough around her now to dodge. By the look on his shadow's face, Kagome had about five seconds before she was knocked out by hiraikotsu, so he pinned her to the bed, putting his body between her and certain danger.

"Let me go!" she shrieked. Kagome was as wild as she was when he had first tried to tame her, scratching at the sheets and tearing into pillows until feathers flew around the room. "I'm sick and tired of being used and degraded and treated like I'm not a person. I should at least get something good out of this!"

While he was inappropriately flattered that the screeching wildcat's definition of "something good" was him bringing her to orgasm, he was more pissed off that she had tried to use him. Him, the prince, the one who had purchased her for his own pleasure which she still had yet to completely deliver.

"Sango, hit her."

This time, he said it not because he was afraid he'd hurt her, but because he knew he couldn't.

His shadow slapped her and she calmed a little, merely trying to push him away rather than kick him off. He shook her once, twice, three times before she stilled completely.

"Is it true?" he asked, feeling stupidly wounded at the thought that she had almost tricked him. "Were you planning on pulling a one-eighty after I gave you yours?"

Kagome's eyes were big and innocent, lashes fluttering like a sweet, helpless little thing, tears clinging to the corners. If he hadn't just seen the devil she was underneath all that, he might have even believed it. When she shook her head, he could see the lie in her face, and he hardened his heart against her.

"There are rules, Kagome," he said. "I can see I've been too generous with you. If you thought before now was bad, it's going to get so much worse."

"What worse could you possibly do to me?" she spat out, her angel façade melting off like it never was.

He pinched her nipple and twisted it, cruelty his intention. "Not to you. To your sister."

This time, the tears were real.

"Inuyasha, no, please, you can't, I'm sorry—"

"I'm tired of your fucking mouth," he said.

Holding a hand out to Sango, eyes remaining on Kagome, he strapped a gag to her face, sticking part of it into her mouth. Kagome sucked on it automatically, recognizing the taste of the sweet wine Inuyasha had brought her that time. The one that had made her act weird. She was so shocked that she almost didn't realize that the gag was in the shape of a small cock.

The last thing she saw before the blindfold covered her eyes was Inuyasha's fanged smirk.

"It's your turn to give me a show now, Kagome. Me and the rest of the palace."

Those words started a panic in her and she struggled against the hands that undressed her. She heard the click of the leash and the whispered word she hated so damned much and then she was on her knees as she had been the last time he'd showed her off.

Kagome whimpered around the gag, scared and trembling.

"Much better," Inuyasha said, patting her head. His hands stroked her ponytail, still tied up with his gift. He wanted to bury his nose in the mass of her hair, take her in his arms, ask if she had learned her lesson. But this was Kagome, so of course she hadn't, and Sango was there, so he had to follow through.

There were several small stages that lined the walls of one of the main palace halls, richly decorated little alcoves that nobles could reserve to put on their shitty vanity plays and talent shows and such. More often, they were used for exhibitionism and voyeurism. The stage he had reserved had more than a few audience members, he noticed with disgust, all curious about his jewel of a slave. There was a curtain and he kept it closed, knowing Kagome wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

On the stage were the stocks Sango had set up for this explicit purpose. Kagome began to try and run off when she heard the voices and felt herself being led up the stairs of the stage, but he pulled hard on her leash, choking her just long enough to hear her gag. That knocked enough sense into her and she was obedient, allowing herself to be raised to her feet. She didn't freak out again until she felt the wood against her skin, but by then it was too late and he slammed the stocks down on her, caging her in.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, we have quite the show tonight!" he announced.

There was a smattering of applause and some hoots and hollers that made even Sango blush.

"We have a very naughty slave who earned herself a punishment."

Kagome was trembling, tense with fear, and he placed a hand on the small of her back. Immediately, she calmed at his touch, knowing and accepting him. It affected him beyond words and he almost set her free and ran with her back to his room, but everyone was already here and he'd look like an idiot if he called it off now.

The prince slapped her hard on the ass, wanting to follow it up with a kiss. Maybe later, when no one was looking… Sango stared at him like she knew his thoughts anyway.

"My darling little slave here rejected her owner's touch," he projected, slapping her on the other cheek hard enough to move her forward a couple inches. "Then she went and tried to get herself off when I had my back turned."

Theatrical gasps from the audience mixed with laughter. He spanked her again, watching the way her ass jiggled for a second even after his hand left her.

"Not only that, but this pretty whore of mine tried to seduce me, to bend me to her will, to top from the bottom." More slaps, harder each time. Just remembering had him angry again, but more than that, he wanted her. "She tried to control a prince of Inu! The lowest cunt in this country thought she had such power."

Kagome was crying. She had been since her room, but it was getting serious now. Her chest heaved with hiccupping sobs and her face was beet red. Even so, she was so turned on that her juices were leaking down her thighs.

"Fuck," he whispered, running his fingers over them in awe.

Inuyasha could still see where he had bitten her and he remembered where he had wanted to bite her, a shiver running down his spine. This wasn't good. He shouldn't be responding to her so strongly. But he couldn't help it, as trapped by her as she was by the stocks.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he ungagged her, immediately covering her mouth with his hand. His lips kissed the side of her face wet with tears, tasting how salty her humiliation was while his fingers plowed between her thighs and tested how sweet it was.

"Don't you like my fingers more than yours?" he whispered for her ears only. "How thick they are. How well they know your pussy." A single finger ran up her lips to her clit, circling it and pinching it. Kagome moaned into his palm, the sound loud enough for the audience members to applaud. "You know what I wanna do with you? Take you back to my room right the fuck now, lay you down on my bed, and kiss you until you can't remember that you were ever anyone else's."

She made a sound of pained confusion and he kissed along her jaw.

"I wanna force your legs apart until it hurts and watch you play with your pussy again, this time for me. I'll play with your sweet tits and suck your little nipples until you beg me to fuck you. Then I'll tease you some more, rub my cock between your soaked thighs, until finally you break and cry and tell me you'll die if you don't have me. Only then, Kagome, only then will I fuck you. Imagine it. That big cock inside your virgin pussy. Much bigger than the gag you had in your mouth. Remember what I taste like? How you couldn't fit all of me in your mouth? You're gonna take all of it this time, princess."

Her knees gave out and then it was just him and the stocks holding her up. Kagome's tongue was licking at his hand and he gave in, moaning aloud when she sucked on his fingers hungrily.

"We could go right now, Kagome," he said in a frenzied voice, louder than he had intended. "It doesn't have to be here. We can run away." Inuyasha was saying things he had only barely fantasized about in the deepest recesses of his heart, hardly daring to dream them. "We can go to the capital and buy a house. No one would know us, no one would know I own you. We could be together. Just tell me you want it, too, Kagome."

Kagome was too choked on pleasure to even hear him properly, only catching every other word. Yes, she wanted to say. Yes, his fingers were much better than her own. She wished they were alone again, wrapped in the honesty they could only have when they were locked away together. Kagome wanted to tell him to hell with it, she wanted him as much as he wanted her, even more. But his hand was covering her mouth so tight that her skin was white with the indent of his fingers and his other hand was working between her legs, making it so hard to try and hold onto whatever fleeting thought managed to find its way inside her brain.

It was at that moment, when they had both reached a peak of want for the other, that Sango tugged Inuyasha's cock from his trousers and began to jerk him in earnest. He turned to her with red-tinted eyes and took his hand from Kagome's cunt, trying to brush his shadow away. But, true to her title, she stuck close to him. Knowing him as well as she did, plus his proximity to Kagome, made it so it only took a few twisting two-handed strokes before he was coming all over his slave's pinkened ass.

Inuyasha rounded on Sango, abandoning a gasping Kagome completely.

"Why did you fucking do that!?" he hissed, reminded anew of his audience. "I was finally going to have her! She was going to say yes!"

"Because," she said, pushing him hard on the shoulder, "you were begging her!" Tears made her choke and she bit her lip hard to hold them back. "You were begging a slave. You were offering to leave everything for her." To abdicate. Like he had shot down when she herself mentioned it.

Shame washed over him when he realized Sango had heard the secret things he had wanted with Kagome. The house in the capital, the normal job as a high-ranking soldier, the woman who would be waiting for him—never for long—at the home they built together. Normal things. He wanted normal things, always had. But now he wanted them with her.

The realization that he was a little obsessed with Kagome dawned on him and he felt sick. He glanced at her, seeing her exhausted body sag in the stocks, the milky ropes of cum decorating her backside. Undignified and dirty and still he wanted her.

"Do you see now?" Sango said. "She's a problem. You need to get rid of that girl. Soon."

Everything in him rebelled at the thought of not seeing her every day. But if she was this much of a problem and he hadn't even had her, how much more of a problem would she be when she became even more entwined in his life? Yes, Sango was right. She always was. He was going to have to give her up.

But not before he got what he paid for.

Mind made up, he nodded once at his shadow and she took heart at how he seemed like his old self.

"As soon as I fuck her, she's going to the harem. Once there, she and her sister will find their way out. We won't even have to do anything." It pained him to say it, but he knew that if given the chance, she'd escape in a heartbeat. That was part of why he had kept her away from her sister and the rest. The more he clung to her, the closer he kept her, the harder it was for her to get away.

"I'll do everything in my power to get her to give in to you. One last game, my prince."

He grinned at her. "And we always win."

Inuyasha pulled on the rope and drew back the curtain.

At the same time, he ripped off Kagome's blindfold. She squinted out at the world, staring unbelievingly at the crowd that had gathered. A huge swell of applause rang out, men and women and everything in between calling out offers of sexual favors and compliments.

Inuyasha undid the latch of the stocks and freed her. At first, Kagome clung to his legs in timid gratitude, trying to hide from the assaulting eyes and comments of the crowd, but when he refused to help her up and instead pushed her back down to her knees, her tears began anew.

"Give 'em a show," he ordered. "Sooner you do, the sooner we leave."

Kagome's big eyes pleaded with him and her arms circled his legs all the tighter in supplication. "Please, Inuyasha," she said in a breathy voice. "Please take me back to our room. I don't want this. I don't like this. Take me away."

That she had referred to his room as theirs should have pissed him off, but instead it made him want to take her in his arms and do exactly what she said, apologizing the whole way back.

Sango stomped over, face and eyes hard. It reminded him of what he needed to do.

"Do it, Kagome," he ordered. "Touch yourself for your fans."

Glancing between them, the girl on the floor found no sympathy in their gazes. She bit her trembling lip and looked out into the swarming mass of demons that were clamoring for a closer look at her beaten body.

Kagome squared her shoulders and shut her eyes tight. The split between her legs was slippery with want for the man whose face she saw every time she closed her eyes. Tears leaked from beneath her lids and she moved her fingers exactly the way she had before. This time, it didn't feel good. A sob left her mouth and she was disgusted by the exclamations of desire the palace-dwellers had in reaction to her obvious misery and unwillingness.

Inuyasha had been right. He was kinder than they were.

"Enough," he said.

Loud complaints and curses filled the little theater but he paid them no mind. Tossing the girl over his shoulder, he exited the stage, going at a pace not even Sango could keep up with. As soon as they were away from the crowd, Kagome started sobbing in earnest, vocal and loud, every jerking cry a blow to his soul. This was wrong. He had crossed a line. He had gone against his gut feeling and done something that hurt her.

"You left too soon!" Sango said. "You had more offers than ever before to buy her. My prince, you could sell her today and then—"

"Shut up, Sango."

His shadow stopped in her tracks. He had never told her to shut up before.

The half-demon got back to his room and gently placed the still crying girl on his bed. He had hoped she would have stopped by now, but it only seemed to have gotten worse. And he still couldn't think of anything to say to make it better.

"…I won't do it again," he said from his spot across the room. It was as close and as far as his guilt allowed him to be from her. "Promise."

Wordless sobs.

"I don't… I don't act my best around you," he admitted. "I know what I want from you, with you, but I don't know if you want it, too. So until we figure it out," he fetched something from one of the cabinets filled with supplies for his favorite game, "we're going to have to be together without temptation making us act insane."

Kagome didn't even have a chance to look up from his blankets before she felt the cold metal close around her hips. The sound of a key being turned in a lock startled her even more and she looked up at her captor, gasping at him.

A chastity belt kept the most intimate parts of herself hidden.

"There," Inuyasha said, pleased with himself. "I'm giving the key to Sango. I don't trust myself with it."

"Take this off me at once!" she demanded, shocked out of her hysterics.

"No fuckin' way. We tried things the normal way and that didn't work. Time to go hardcore."

Kagome fought the urge to throw one of the tantrums that so frustrated Kikyo. Clawing, scratching, biting, and screaming weren't going to get through to him. That's what he expected.

Calm and rational, she leveled him with a frosty glare.

"I hate you."

There was no smell of a lie tainting the air.

Note: Some people have been asking when Forget the Storm will be updated. My thing for a while was writing stories with significant age differences, mostly older men and young women (have you noticed? lol). That was because my first relationship and most of my other relationships were like that. My reluctance in writing that now is because I have since hit the age my first boyfriend was when he decided to start chatting up a 13-year old (my "silver" birthday), and you guys, it's so fucking creepy. I cannot imagine even hanging out with a teenager let alone spending hours on the phone and messaging on MySpace (lmao can I get a hell yeah later millenials) and other stuff with one. The daddy kink-ish fics were mostly me working through some stuff without fully realizing it, I guess. So I'm gonna shelve that one and the others for a while. I won't delete them, and they're still kinda hot so I'll probably come back to them, but I'm not exactly that writer anymore. I also kinda got the feeling I was just writing that stuff for me and you guys were so desperate for content you were like, "Aight, guess I'm into this shit now."

In other news, I'm working on a new story that's a plot-driven adventure (also InuKag) but may not even feature explicit sex. Would that be something you'd be interested in reading from me? I asked the same thing at the end of The Merrier's last chapter, but only 3 people reviewed and only 1 responded (do you guys not like PWP with bisexual throuples? Am I the only one into InuKagKog?), so I'm just wondering.